Patient not told that 'stop smoking' medication could be detrimental to his mental health

What happened

Mr A, who was in his twenties, had a long standing history of schizophrenia. He went to see his GP about prescribing medication to help him stop smoking and the GP prescribed Champix. Mr A took the Champix and suffered a relapse of his schizophrenia. He had to spend three months in hospital.

Mr A complained to the Practice. The practice said the GP had considered his psychiatric history when he prescribed Champix. The GP said that when Mr A's mother contacted him to say Mr A had become unwell, he advised her that Mr A should cease taking Champix. The GP was sorry to think that something he had done had caused harm.

What we found

We partly upheld this case. The GP failed to act in accordance with the relevant clinical and record keeping guidance when he prescribed Champix to Mr A. General Medical Council prescribing guidance required that the GP should have told Mr A about the risks of taking Champix as he had a history of psychiatric illness. The GP said that he had made Mr A aware of the risks, but this was not supported by the notes he took at the time. We also noted that there was no monitoring plan in place and Mr A had not been advised to stop taking Champix if he started to feel unwell.

It was possible that Mr A's relapse could have been linked to using Champix; however, it was impossible to say conclusively that Champix was the direct cause.

While we cannot be certain that Mr A suffered a relapse of schizophrenia as a result of taking Champix, we did find that he suffered an injustice. Mr A was denied the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether to take Champix because we could find no evidence that he was warned of the side effects, or told what to do if he became unwell.

Putting it right

The GP acknowledged and apologised for his failings and paid Mr A compensation of £500.